Japan's Advance
Lord Cecil of course is right. The Japanese operations at Shanhaikwan must be regarded as the direct conse- quence of the continued failure of the League of Nations to take any definite line over the seizure of Manchuria. Now Japan, having consolidated her position there and found that she can do it with complete impunity, is pro- ceeding to extend into Jehol, which the rich opium revenue makes a lucrative prize. That involves a pene- tration of China proper to the south of the Great Wall, and among other things Japan finds a source of provoca- tion in the perfectly legitimate movement of Chinese troops on Chinese soil. The League Assembly's Committee of Nineteen meets on Monday, and attempts at concilia-
tion having proved entirely abortive, as it was obvious they would in view of Japan's attitude for the past fifteen months, there is some prospect that the League will at last go as far as to approve the Lytton Report and pledge its members either definitely or by implication against the recognition of Manchukuo. That will do something to restore Geneva's self-respect and make it clear that the principles of the Covenant have at any rate not been openly jettisoned, even if in this case they cannot be effec- tively enforced. If Japan leaves the League it will be a matter for regret, but for her to remain in the League and defy the Covenant would be a matter for greater regret.
